Ticketmaster Blocking Brokers

Ticketmaster is blocking dozen of ticket brokers from accessing their website, in what looks to be a large-scale action against secondary ticket resellers who frequent Ticketmaster.com.
 
Why you ask?  Well, at first glance it may appear that the Ticketmaster blockage is actually geared towards brokers who are believed to be using automated software.  “Bot software,” as it’s called, is an automated program that can search a site and purchase tickets at once. 
 
The use of such software is illegal in many states, and even where its use is allowed, many ticket brokers refrain from the practice.  The use of such software gained extremely negative press as it was blamed for creating a ticketing nightmare for the 2007-2008 Hannah Montana shows. 
 
But according to Ticketnews.com, even those brokers who are not using the software are still being blocked. And with the ticketing giant’s power to just up and block hundreds from accessing their website, will the government see the organization as being just a little too powerful? 
 
Many have criticized the organization’s market dominance for years, and with the proposed merger with Live Nation, the issue is now more pressing than ever.  How much control can Ticketmaster have?
 
Ticketmaster spokesperson Hannah Kampf did not respond to questions about the company's alleged blocking of brokers. For the most part, the blocking would last for several hours, but in some cases would last for a couple of days.